Candy Wars - Recap

The episode begins at the Natesville Radish Festival. The Chance family is at the festival. The festival is basically an opportunity to promote radishes and its various uses. The festival also gives small business owners who are afraid of the internet, an opportunity to advertise. Burt and Virginia buy some radish ice cream but discover that it tastes horrible. It is declared at the festival that, the annual kid’s candy drive is on and whichever kids sells the most candies, would get to be the “little pilgrim” on the radish float.

Jimmy recollects how back in 1993 he was the little pilgrim. He felt at the top of the world on that day, and wants Hope to feel that way. Later at home, Jimmy is trying to formulate a plan to sell as many bars of candy as possible, so Hope can be on the float. Virginia and Burt for some reason aren’t too keen on Hope winning, but Jimmy feels Hope has to win so she can ride the float and feel confident about herself like he did. Sabrina asks if Burt and Virginia can help them sell candies and they say that they can’t. Jimmy asks them way, but Burt tells him to not ask questions. Maw Maw who is hiding in the cupboard hoping to be transported to a magical place, says “just tell the boy. Better coming from you”. Virginia then, reluctantly agrees to reveals the truth.

The scene then flashes back to the radish festival of 1993. A little Jimmy asks Burt and Virginia to help him in selling candy, but they ask him to do it himself, as they feel it would build character. Virginia then finds out that her friend, with who she had decided to not help their kids sell Candy, has betrayed her and is helping her daughter sell candy. Therefore Virginia too decides to help Jimmy sell his candy. Virginia and Burt in the end do not manage to sell any candy much to Jimmy’s disappointment. Maw Maw concludes the problem is the candies “taste like crap”. “Don’t worry, Maw Maw’s got an idea” she says. Maw Maw then begins whipping up “her own special batch of chocolate”. One of the ingredients its turns out is, powdered tablets of caffeine.

Maw Maw’s secret ingredient was bacon drippings and that is what made her candy special. The candy was so delicious that everyone in town was hooked. But, it started a major turf was between Virginia and her friend. “They hit us, we hit them back harder” Virginia recounts. Eventually But and Virginia manage to collect the most amount of money as a result of which Jimmy gets to ride the float. “Then I realized even though Jimmy was happy we had made another child very sad” Virginia recounts, remembering how her friend Rosa’s daughter was dejected at not being on the float.

Virginia says at that moment she and her friend Rosa, both realized, there are no winners in “candy war”. “And there has been peace between the families ever since” Virginia says, concluding her story. “If you want Hope to ride on that float you are going to have to do it without our help” Virginia tells Jimmy. “Fine, I’ll do it on my own” Jimmy says. Later, while selling candy, Jimmy finds out that “Rosa’s back in the candy game”. He informs the rest of the family about it. Maw Maw and Virginia are outraged to hear this. “Fire up the Bunsen burner, we are going to dump some cocoa madness on those chumps” Maw Maw says. The whole family gets in on the act of making chocolates, just like back in 1993. Maw Maw’s recipe hits the streets and “the Chance family are back on top”. The turf wars then begin once again, with both sides hitting out at each other.

It is then shown that, even the Chance family members aren’t able to resist Maw Maw’s chocolates. Each of them is shown having the chocolates on the sly. At work, Barney finds out that Maw Maw’s chocolates are back on the street and calls Jimmy into his office. Barney recounts how 20 years ago he had a run in with Virginia, when she won the contest against Rosa, by making more money selling chocolates. Basically on seeing the amount of money Virginia had made, Barney was convinced Virginia had cheated, so he began keeping a watch on her. But, over the years he hasn’t been able to prove it. Jimmy begs Barney to not make him “rat out” his own mother. “I am not asking you to be a snitch. I am asking you to do what’s best for your daughter” Barney says.

Basically Barney won’t allow Hope on the float, if Jimmy doesn’t rat out Virginia. Jimmy in the end gives in and asks “what do I have to do?” “You are going to wear a wire” Barney says. Jimmy returns home wearing a wire and is soon discovered by Virginia. Later, Burt and Virginia interrogate Jimmy, asking him who made him wear the wire.

Jimmy eventually breaks under questioning and reveals the truth. “Why didn’t you tell us that you idiot, the only reason we have been doing this is to get Hope on that float” Virginia says. Later, Virginia admits to Barney that she had cheated. Later, Hope is shown riding the float. The episode ends at this point.